The Internet started as a cooperative research effort of the United States Federal Government known as the Advanced Research Project Agency Network (ARPAnet). The ARPAnet tied universities and research and development organizations to the U.S. military establishment. More recently, the Internet has extended its use commercially and internationally. It is the world's largest computer network.
A Universal Resource Locator (URL) address is an Internet address. A URL address consists of a string expression that designates a resource (referred to herein as a URL page) on the Internet. For example the resource is a particular file on a computer connected to the Internet.
Web browsers such as Netscape Navigator browser available from Netscape, and Internet Explorer browser available from Microsoft Corporation use URL addresses to access resources (URL pages) on the Internet. Once accessed, these resources (URL pages) can be printed from the web browser using a print command.
The Internet Explorer browser includes a history window that lists the names and URL addresses of recently visited resources (URL pages). It is possible to “drag and drop” an entry in the history window to a computer desktop. Selecting the resulting icon results in the Internet Explorer browser accessing the resource (URL page) and displaying the URL page within a window of the Internet Explorer browser.
While currently available web browsers provide for accessing and printing of URL pages, it is always desirable to provide more convenient ways to access and print information from the Internet.